Fumie Suguri failed to qualify for Japanese Nationals again

Fumie Suguri competed in East Japan Championship 2012 last weekend, where the top 10 competitors will qualify for Japanese Nationals in December, and she finished 11th overall(SP 38.91/13th and FS 76.67/9th TOTAL 115.58/11th). Therefore, she will not be able to compete in Japanese Nationals.

However, she still hopes to make the Olympic team in Sochi although she says that will not be easy.

I don't know if I should feel sorry for her or not. If skating makes her happy then by all means stay in it. I'm not going to tell someone who loves to compete that they should stop. But saying she still hopes to go to Sochi is, quite honestly, ludicrous. Someone needs to get it through to her that it's time to close the door on the Olympic dream and find a new goal. Many other skaters have done it successfully and she can too. There's no shame in saying you can't do something anymore!

Isn't she the one who drove her family into bankruptcy trying to continue skating?... I'm all for someone continuing to skate just because they love it, but she is never going to be a viable contender for anything, ever again. When was the last time she had an international assignment, or even a national one that wasn't just trying to get to Japanese nationals?

Reading this just makes me wish she'd retired after 2008, her last good season. Watching her skate in 2009 and 2010 was painful. And knowing that she now struggles to achieve dismal scores is just depressing.

Reading this just makes me wish she'd retired after 2008, her last good season. Watching her skate in 2009 and 2010 was painful. And knowing that she now struggles to achieve dismal scores is just depressing.

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2008 wasn´t that good for her; failed to qualify for worlds, 2009 she could achieve that once again.

Has she had issues with injuries? I liked watching her but haven't kept up with her recently; any particular reason her skill level diminished (so suddenly, it seems)?

Also, are there professional skating opportunities (shows, tours) that she can do in Japan to keep skating? With skating's popularity in Japan, you would think that she could continue show skating without competing.

Well she is free to hope a lot of things. But if she thinks she has any kind of chance to actually make the team then she is delusional. She didn't even stand a chance in 2010 when she was still landing some triples.

If only she had left in 2006 after regaining her National title, placing 4th at the Olympics and 2nd at Worlds. Her career would have been glorious. Now it's tainted with an embarrassing tail. I bet if the Turino OG had been won by a non-Japanese, she would have turned pro / retired in 2006, being the best placed Japanese lady that season. Alas this girl needs her spotlight.

IIRC, her decision to continue skating after 2006 did not make her family bankrupt but it did force her retired father to resume work. Hope this isn't still the case. Does Suguri work at all? Current elites like Suzuki also work, so I am guessing skaters like Suguri with no assignments or competitions can really work full time, no?

it's a real shame ... but i hope she comes back next year and makes the Japanese Nationals, and performs a routine that she can be proud of (that wouldn't be too distant a dream)

it's always a v. difficult decision i.e. when to move on. i recall that my early favourite Alexei Urmanov said he was so disappointed about not being able to compete in Nagano that he just had to stick it out for another season but then he eventually came to terms with the fact that the new skaters (plushy, yagudin) were emerging and so he forced himself to be content with the decision to retire straight after worlds in 1999. that's why the performances in Helsinki that year were v. emotional for him ... anyway, that's off topic.

it's a real shame ... but i hope she comes back next year and makes the Japanese Nationals, and performs a routine that she can be proud of (that wouldn't be too distant a dream).

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That was the 2009 season. She came back to win the free skate at Nationals and medal there, and placed top ten at Worlds after missing Worlds for 2 seasons. That was another chance for her to leave on a high note.

Does the minimum score rule apply to the Olympics?
If it does, the door for her to make the Olympic team in Sochi is already closed.
With this result, she will probably not be assigned to any of international competition for the next season to meet the score requirement.

I don't know what she has in mind but hopefully she is realistic about her chances to go to Sochi. Is it possible that she sticks around because of sponsoring funding or for any other reason related to money ?

I don't think she has any sponsors. She was looking for sponsors a while back - it was lack of sponsorship that caused her to withdraw from Finlandia last year. I think it was last year, anyway; it could have been the year brfore. Anyway, it was reported that she couldn't afford to go on her own, couldn't find a sponsor, and had to withdraw.

I don't think she has any sponsors. She was looking for sponsors a while back - it was lack of sponsorship that caused her to withdraw from Finlandia last year. I think it was last year, anyway; it could have been the year brfore. Anyway, it was reported that she couldn't afford to go on her own, couldn't find a sponsor, and had to withdraw.

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She actually found one after that if I'm not wrong. That's why she's able to continue skating up till now. Her sponsor is the company she works for I think. I read somewhere that she is injured and is thinking of retiring. She didn't mention about the oly.

Not as of now. It's possible that the ISU could make it apply next season. I suspect that they will take a look at the whole idea behind the rule after they see how it plays out for this season's ISU Championships.

That was the 2009 season. She came back to win the free skate at Nationals and medal there, and placed top ten at Worlds after missing Worlds for 2 seasons. That was another chance for her to leave on a high note.

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I was in the arena at those Worlds and I had a good view of Michelle Kwan in the NBC booth during Suguri's free skate. I noticed that whoever went before Suguri, Kwan didn't pay much attention to but she was intently watching Suguri's LP. I honestly think watching one of her contemporaries compete against the likes of Kim, Asada, etc, was one of the reasons she didn't make a comeback attempt. I think it's too bad Suguri still hasn't had her reality check.

Seriously though, has Shizuka blacklisted her from shows or something? And what about coaching? I'm sure she would be in-demand as a former Olympian and World Medalist.

yes, but if she wants to go to Sochi does it mean she has to sit out a season?
or are there complicated rules like she can't do that because she competed for japan at the olympics before?

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The more complicated rule is the citizenship rules of Japan. It's not a country that allows dual citizenship. So she would have to renounce her current citizenship. Not a step to be taken lightly!

The sad thing is comparing her to another skater being discussed on here that I think is nearing the end of her competitive career. If Rachel Flatt says "this was it" then she seems well equipped to take the next step in life (see Michelle Kwan) Fumie seems poorly equipped to move on, maybe she has no other "dreams" Sad. I don't think she will be in Sochi. Too many good ladies in Japan out there right now....

Isn't she the one who drove her family into bankruptcy trying to continue skating?... I'm all for someone continuing to skate just because they love it, but she is never going to be a viable contender for anything, ever again. When was the last time she had an international assignment, or even a national one that wasn't just trying to get to Japanese nationals?

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This is what I hate most about the sport. How can someone who was top ten in the world for a decade, won multiple world medals, placed top 5 in the Olympics twice and bring a paying audience to the sport be BANKRUPT? The economic reality of 'amateur' skaters be so bleak? The ISU kick you out of competitions if you make money on the pro circuit but give minimal reward to athletes who reach the top of the sport. It's sad.

A twice silver medalist at GP with a fourth place finish at GPF, a bronze at 4C's or Euros, and a 6th at Worlds would gross ~ $47K/year, which, even for skaters whose training/costumes/living expenses/PT/dance lessons/Federation cut (if applicable) cost less than $100K/year, leaves the skater at a deficit each year, even when among the top skaters.

^ Yikes, that's a bleak picture. Surely there are shows that do pay eligible skaters to appear -- i.e. Yuna's show, some of the ones in Europe, even Disson shows have had eligible skaters in recent years. Any guesses as to how much those pay? And what are the limitations to how much a skater can be paid in order to stay amateur and not be sanctioned by the ISU?